Institutions and Laws

JOUR/HRTS 2110: Global Press Freedom: Journalism, Human Rights, and Democracy
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Scott Wallace

Examination of the complex relationship between freedom of the press and the broader exercise of civil liberties and human rights internationally and in the United States. Understanding of the critical importance of a free press in the functioning of democracy and distinguishing between responsible, fact-based reporting and the falsehoods that sustain authoritarian regimes and aspiring authoritarians. Analysis of the various components that go into the gathering and dissemination of news while engaging in critical thinking about the vulnerability of the press to coercion, the power structures that limit and enable freedom of expression, and the potential for journalism to expose injustice among marginalized and traditionally exploited populations.
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI5: Indiv Values Soc Inst

HRTS 3050: Approaches to Human Rights Advocacy
TTH 11:00-12:15pm
Sandra Sirota

The study of international and domestic non-governmental organizations in human rights advocacy and campaigns.

POLS/HRTS 3428: The Politics of Torture
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
David Richards

Examination of the usage of torture by state and non-state actors. Questions include, "Why is torture perpetrated?" "What domestic and international legal frameworks and issues related to the use of torture?" "How effective are existing legal prohibitions and remedies?" "Who tortures?" and "How does torture affect transitional justice?"
Enrollment Requirements: Open to juniors or higher.

History, Philosophy, & Theory

HRTS 2100W: Human Rights and Social Change
Th 5:00-7:30pm
Cesar Abadia

Interdisciplinary exploration of the dynamic intersection between human rights and struggles for social change in a variety of contexts. Emphasis on how history, theory, and practice influence the power dynamics that promote or undermine human rights through social change.
Enrollment Requirements: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency
Content Areas: CA2: Social Science, CA4INT: Div & Multi - Intl
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just

LLAS/HRTS 2450: Human Rights in Latin America
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Anne Gebelein

Fundamental concepts and recurrent challenges of human rights in Latin America.

HEJS/HRTS 3205: Introduction to Holocaust Studies
Online Synchronous
MW 3:30-4:45pm
Grae Sibelman

This course provides students with an introduction to the study of the Holocaust. It examines the political, cultural, and religious contexts in which the mass murder of European Jews and others unfolded, considers the conditions under which the Holocaust became possible, the possibilities for resistance and dissent, and the impact of the Holocaust on contemporary culture and understanding of human rights.

PHIL/HRTS 3220W: Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights
TTH 11:00-12:15pm
Lynne Tirrell

Ontology and epistemology of human rights investigated through contemporary and/or historical texts.
Enrollment Requirements: One three-credit course in Philosophy at the 1100 level; ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities
Topics of Inquiry: TOI5: Indiv Values Soc Inst

ANTH/HRTS 3326: Global Health and Human Rights
TTH 9:30-10:45am
Cesar Abadia

Theories, methods and controversies in the interconnected fields of global health and human rights.

HRTS 3460: Human Rights and Armed Conflict
TTH 12:30-1:45pm
Michael Rubin

Examines the relationship between human rights and armed conflict from a social science perspective. Explores human rights abuses as cause and consequence of armed conflict. Evaluates the effectiveness of the human rights and humanitarian approaches to conflict management.
Enrollment Requirements: Open to juniors or higher.

Applications & Methods

DRAM/HRTS 3139:Theatre and Human Rights
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Asif Majid

Provides a critical study of theatre production as political discourse in global areas of conflict and how that discourse defines, or is defined by, human rights issues.

POLS/HRTS 3256W: Politics and Human Rights in Global Supply Chains
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Shareen Hertel

Political and human rights implications of regulating contemporary global supply chains: official regulatory frameworks; non-regulatory approaches to rule-making (such as voluntary corporate codes of conduct and industry standards); social responses to the dilemmas of "ethical" sourcing of goods and services.
Enrollment Requirements: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011, open to Political Science and Human Rights majors and minors; open to juniors or higher. Recommended preparation: POLS 1202, POLS 1402 and POLS/HRTS 3212.
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency

ENGR/HRTS 3257: Assessment for Human Rights and Sustainability
W 4:00-6:30pm
Shareen Hertel

Foundational concepts of human rights and environmental impacts pertaining to global supply chains. Regulations and voluntary standards in engineering-intensive sectors, including infrastructure, biofuels, electronics. Case study analysis of corporate assessment practices for labor rights protection and environmental impacts.

DMD/HRTS 3640: Human Rights Archives I: Documenting and Curating Community Memory
F 12:20-3:20pm
Catherine Masud

The use of human rights archival materials in documentary storytelling. Students will learn methods and best practices of collecting and managing digital visual and audio-visual archival assets. This is the first part of a two-semester unit addressing a common theme. Part I is not a prerequisite for Part II.
Course flyer

Electives 

AAAS/DRAM/HRTS 2138: Islam on Stage
TTH 11:00-12:15pm
Asif Majid

The role of theatre and representation in the lives of Muslims, particularly in Asian diasporas. Examines performance by Muslim artists, comedians, and others. Students critique and question assumptions about how Islam and those who practice it are represented socially, politically, and theatrically.
Content Areas: CA4INT: Div & Multi - Intl
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just

PHIL/HRTS 2170W: Bioethics and Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective
MWF 12:20-1:10pm
TBA

Philosophical examination of the ethical and human rights implications of recent advances in the life and biomedical sciences from multiple religious and cultural perspectives.
Enrollment Requirements: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011; open to sophomores or higher.
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just

AFRA/SOCI/HRTS 2520: White Racism
TTH 12:30pm-1:45pm
Noel Cazenave

The origin, nature, and consequences of white racism as a central and enduring social principle around which the United States and other modern societies are structured and evolve.
Content Areas: CA4: Diversity & Multicultural

ANTH/HRTS 3309: Violence and Human Rights
TTH 9:30-10:45am
Sayantan Saha Roy

Violence and human rights as cultural constructs; human rights claims; war, genocide, terrorism, street crime, domestic violence; deterrence and intervention policy.
Enrollment Requirements: Open to sophomores or higher.

ARTH/HRTS 3575: Human Rights, Digital Media, Visual Culture
Hybrid
MW 2:00-3:15pm
Michael Orwicz

The problematics of digital media and visual representation in conceptualizing, documenting, and visualizing human rights and humanitarian issues.
Enrollment Requirements: Open to juniors or higher.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just

ARTH/HRTS 3580: Image as Witness: Testimony, Witness, Confession
Hybrid
TTH 2:00-3:15pm
Jose Falconi

Explores the role of visual culture in bearing witness to human rights abuses.

POLS/HRTS 3807: Constitutional Rights and Liberties
TTH 3:30-4:45pm
Virginia Hettinger

The role of the Supreme Court in interpreting the Bill of Rights. Topics include freedoms of speech and religion, criminal due process, and equal protection.
Enrollment Requirements: Open to juniors or higher.

SOWK/HRTS 2160: Human Rights and Social Work
Online Synchronous
Craig Mortley

An examination of the relationship between social work and human rights, with emphasis on applying international human rights principles to practice. Topics include the international human rights system, social work’s role in promoting rights, and analysis of social problems affecting women, children, immigrants, refugees, and other groups facing systemic barriers. U.S. case studies illustrate how social workers and allied professionals can advocate for and uphold human rights in their work.

Capstone 

HRTS 4291: Service Learning Seminar/Internship
F 10:10-11:00am Online Synchronous
Rachel Jackson & Ayaa Elgoharry 

Combination of supervised fieldwork within the larger human rights community with regular classroom meetings for reflection/analysis on the application of human rights concepts and practices. Students must secure a satisfactory intern position before the end of the second week of the semester of enrollment in this course; students should be in consultation with the instructor several months in advance. 

HRTS 4996W: Senior Thesis
By arrangement

Research and writing of major project exploring a topic with human rights, with close supervision and production of multiple written drafts.

Core Classes 

HRTS 5301: Contemporary Debates in Human Rights
W 12:20pm-3:20pm
Elizabeth Holzer

Key Debates in Human Rights will introduce students to the main modern debates in the academic field of human rights. It is interdisciplinary in scope, including recent intellectual contributions from philosophy, law, political science, sociology, anthropology, literature and history. It will address a number of central issues and questions, including the normative philosophical foundations of human rights, whether human rights are universal or relative, whether human rights can be held collectively, and the justifications for women's rights and cultural rights.

EDCI 5847: Human Rights and Social Justice in Education
T 3:30-6:15pm
Sandra Sirota

Introduction to human rights and social justice, two overlapping, but non-identical frameworks for understanding and acting through educational institutions, practices, and objectives.

SSW 5421: Human Rights and Social Work
T 4:00pm-6:30pm
TBA

Theoretical, conceptual, and practical foundation for social workers to engage in a human rights-based approach to social work. Students will gain an understanding of the international human rights system, social work's contribution to achieving human rights, and how international human rights principles can be applied to social work practice. We will use a number of cases from varied countries, including the United States, to examine how social workers can both advocate for and respect human rights in their work. Formerly offered as SWEL 5385.

Electives 

HRTS 5401: Methods in Human Rights Research and Practice
TTH 5:00-7:30pm
David Richards

An introduction to professional modes of human rights research and practice from multi-disciplinary perspectives. An exploration of roles of data collection, creation, and analysis in policy making and advocacy using principles of human rights evaluation. Examination of the relationship between human rights research and practical interventions affecting human rights outcomes.

HRTS 5450:  Contemporary Issues in Genocide Studies
T 9:30am-12:00pm
James Waller

A deeply divided society is one where violence, or even the threat of violence in times of peace, keeps a society divided along social identity lines. These deep social cleavages leave societies at increased risk for large-scale violent conflict, including genocide or other atrocity crimes. This course analyzes risk assessment for genocide and mass atrocity through systematic analyses of case studies of deeply divided societies.  These case studies will include, but are not limited to, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the United States. Particular attention will be paid to the enduring impact of these deep identity divisions and the ways in which truth, memory, and justice continue to be pursued in each case.

HRTS 5460: Human Right and Armed Conflict
TTH 12:30pm-1:45pm
Michael Rubin 

Examines the relationship between human rights and armed conflict from a social science perspective. Explores human rights abuses as cause and consequence of armed conflict. Evaluates the effectiveness of the human rights and humanitarian approaches to conflict management. 

CLCS/GERM 5350: Theater and Human Rights
Tu 12:30-3:00pm
Sebastian Wogenstein

Exploration of theater and related performing arts as forms of artistic expression and public debate. Analysis of specific characteristics of modern and contemporary theater and exploration of theater's engagement with human rights discourse and interventions in the public sphere. Theoretical texts and recordings of performances will inform class discussions.

SSW 5414.001:Core Concepts of Child and Adolescent Trauma
W 4:00-6:30pm
TBA

SSW 5414.002:Core Concepts of Child and Adolescent Trauma
W 6:45-9:15pm
Online Synchronous

Incorporates the new National Child Traumatic Stress Network core curriculum on child trauma (CCCT). The course conveys the crucial evidence-based concepts, components, and skills designed by the NCTSN to strengthen competency in assessment, referral, and treatment. Formerly offered as SWEL 5318.

Core Classes 

TBA

Electives 

TBA